


When Falcon Met Robin

by soren_berdichev



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Fort Drakon (Dragon Age)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-02-04 18:01:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18609667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soren_berdichev/pseuds/soren_berdichev
Summary: Katalina Tabris foolishly accepted Vaughan's deal and was arrested by the guards he sent soon afterwards. The Guard Captain refused to release her into Duncan's custody, claiming only King Cailan could pardon her. As a result, she had to spend many months in the notorious dungeon of Fort Drakon Prison, until another of Duncan's recruit stormed the fortress...





	When Falcon Met Robin

The skinny elven girl rubbed her temple, trying to alleviate her headache as much as she could, but her arms were cumbersome. And aching, too.

She cursed under her breath. Even this seemingly easy movement was quickly becoming a challenge, with heavy manacles attached on her wrists. She could see the wrought iron chain, thicker than her own fingers, dangling in front of her tearful eyes. The kind of manacles only attached to limbs of a death row inmate.

Or a slave.

“Soon, you would be one of them, Katalina Tabris.” A sinister voice told her, not without a generous dose of malicious delight.

“I deserve no less.” She answered with an equal amount of grimness. It was almost a reflective response for her, now. Trying to argue with the voice was pointless, had long since ceased to be an option. Agreeing with whatever it said provided the only way to banish it, if only for a while.

But she still deserved a few nights of undisturbed sleep, didn’t she? Even that seemed a luxury this morning, however, as screams were piecing into her small, dark cell. It was by no means an unusual phenomenon, of course. Fort Drakon never lacked its share of screams. But it never began at so early an hour, either. The torture of prisoners often lasted into the midnight and wee hours. Those guards, devoted to their sadistic works as they were, still required the morning hours to rest.

Maybe they had decided to catch up with the clock, maximally utilizing the remaining time still available.

If so, who could blame them? They must know time was scarce. In one week or so, all elven prisoners inside this den of degradation would be dead, or on board a ship to Tevinter, to spend rest of their lives as a slave.

A half-drunken guard had announced this news to her and other elves three nights ago. The same night, everyone was put in irons. It seemed the “Regent” finally decided that feeding so many useless knife-ears was not a patriotic act in such a difficult time of Ferelden after all. Better to get some money from them. Those Tevinter slavers were rumored to leave Denerim in about ten days’ time. Any elf still held in the fortress prison would be offered to them for whatever price they deigned to pay. Those mouths that couldn’t bring coins for Ferelden would no longer be fed, but silenced forever.

That kind of news might be state secret outside Fort Draken. But here, guards took pains to make sure all elven prisoners knew their fate. To those shemlens, elves were cattles. What could cattles do even if they knew they were to be slaughtered?

Death was a fitting punishment for what she had done to Shianni. For her moment of weakness and gullibility. But she still wanted be a Grey Warden. She would rather die fighting darkspawns than by a hangman’s noose. So, Katalina could force herself to endure the indignity of slavery, until she could escape to join the order.

Approaching footsteps awakened the young elf from her dark musing. Hurried footsteps from several pairs of legs. Katalina could hear a man’s frightened voice, trying to explain or assure something desperately. The door was unlocked. Then, without warning, it was kicked wide open. Bright light from a torch made her instinctively raise both hands to shield her eyes.

“So, this is her?” A female voice asked. It was surprisingly pleasant to ears. Totally different from those brutal male voices she used to hear.

“Oh, yes, milady! The Grey Warden. I check the record myself. I don’t know why we have ignored this one for so long, but she is not hiding no more! Do whatever you like to her, milady, she is all yours!” The man eagerly replied. Perhaps a little too eager. Now Katalina’s eyes had somewhat adjusted to the light, she could see the guardman's face was unfamiliar, not one of those thugs who showed up far too often recently. Who no longer pretended to interrogate prisoners but tortured and abused her people for fun. 

“You are Katalina Tabris, the elf Duncan tried to recruit?” The woman asked again in an even tone.

Katalina blinked her eyes several times more, before she could distinguish other figures behind this guard. The so called “milady” turned to be still a teenage girl in leather armor and breastplate. Perhaps only one or two years older than her, roughly the same age as Shianni. This woman had a head of golden hair blended with honey color, and a doll face so pretty that almost went beyond Katalina’s limited vocabulary to describe, yet with such an atmosphere of authority that neither Shianni nor any woman she had known could ever hope to match. Not even Ser Cauthrine, the grim commandant of Fort Drakon.

So, a noble. Surely an ally of “Regent” Loghain, or Arl Howe, if she could walk freely in this little piece of hell.

She brought three companions with her, two of them were also young woman. The one with black hair was a stunning beauty, too, just like “milady”, but with such a haughtiness that could scold The Maker himself. The other one was a red-haired woman. She was still quite pretty, though not as dazzling as other two. Yet she looked more affable, even trying to give Katalina an assuring smile.

No matter. It seemed she needn’t to worry about being enslaved any more. They know who she was and they came for her. Nowadays everyone knew Loghain was not a friend of Grey Warden, but Katalina was naïve to believe she could escape her fate by hiding among other elven prisoners or boarding a slave ship. She should have known better. Loghain Mac Tir was nothing if not thorough.

That didn’t mean she would let them execute her like a wild beast, though. She still had her claw, which she could use to end her own life, at her own term.

Katalina chose not to reply the young noblewoman’s inquiry, but to keep a menacing stare at her. In the meantime, her hands fumbled with the straw cover on the floor, until she found what she was looking for. The rusty small dagger she bought for forty sovereigns from a guard, all those dirty coins she earned by letting Vaughan abuse Shianni and other girls with impunity. She paid those money for her freedom, but all that guard did was giving Katalina a dagger to end her own life.

With an unsteady, manacled hand, she held the knife in front of her chest, her small, emaciated body trembled violently as an intense wave of fear and hatred overwhelmed her. She couldn’t banish them, nor did she bother to mask them anymore. “Yes, I am her. I killed your shemlen soldiers! I enjoyed to watch them bleeding like pigs they are! Come and get me, shemlen bitch!” She tried to bellow, but instead of a roar, only a feral hiss came out of her parched throat.

_Like a wild beast. Maybe I am one, after all. A cornered, doomed beast who is staring at her demise._

The blonde girl didn’t seem to be in the least bit impressed by her outburst. She still gazed Katalina without expression for several heartbeats more, before she spoke again. “That's enough. Put your knife down. I am not coming to hurt you.”

Now her remaining companion came up. This one was a young man, donned in a set of heavily used templar armor with all sorts of dents and scratches. He looked rugged handsome with his sandy hair, hazel eyes and an athletic building. A bodyguard of her, for sure. She must be a _really_ important shemlen wench to have a templar serve as her personal guard. 

The young templar opened his mouth, but before saying anything, he first nervously scratched his scalp several times, then smiled somewhat awkwardly. “Greetings, Mistress Tabris, I am Alistair. Warden Alistair. Glad to meet you. Really. This is Her Ladyship, Teyrna Elissa of Highever, and, err…” He turned his head toward the noble girl and only continued to speak after she gave a slight nod. “Warden Commander of Ferelden. You are Duncan’s recruit, right? That makes you her sister… I mean, our sister.”

Katalina couldn’t believe her ears. Could that be true, the order came to her rescue? But they said all Grey Wardens were gone, died a traitor’s death. Anyway, the previous Warden Commander wasn’t of much help. “I am told only the king could pardon me. But he is dead.” She said defensively. Better not to keep her hope up too high.

Unexpectedly, the young teyrna chuckled. “Hmm… then today is your lucky day, Lady Tabris. For this one is our new king.” She tilted her head toward the young man playfully, who looked like he right now needed a hole to sneak into. “And I am the new queen of this damned kingdom. I could pardon whomever I like.” Still smiling, Elissa slowly and deliberately turned her head to the guard. Only now Katalina noticed the bloodstain on her dark armor. She could also see the flickering light reflected in the noble girl’s eyes. Those steel blue eyes didn’t smile, and there was a shadow behind them.

The shadow of death.

"What do you say, soldier?” She asked the guard in a most friendly tone, yet the man’s face was as white as a paper sheet, his entire body quivering uncontrollably. Opening his mouth, but unable to speak a single word, he could only answer with frantic nods.

“Find the key to unfetter her.” Elissa ordered. Then, moving with an uncanny swiftness, she grabbed Katalina’s wrist, pressing the elf’s hand downward. Having no other option, Katalina’s numb fingers released the hilt of the knife. It hit the ground with a dull clang.

“you don’t need this piece of rubbish anymore.” Elissa looked squarely at Katalina’s eyes with the same piercing gaze, as if to gauge her worth, but Katalina mustered all her courage to meet it head on. After several seconds, without another word but still holding Katalina's wrist, Elissa gave a slight nod and slowly pulled Katalina toward her. She raised the other hand, gently touched the younger girl’s face, like she wanted to feel Katalina's existence a little better. Now her eyes no longer contained shadow. There was genuine, warm smile in them.

The same warm smile as Katalina remembered. As the last time she saw it.

A life time ago. In her wedding. 

In Shianni’s eyes.

“I will take care of you, _sister_.”

**Author's Note:**

> "Falcon" is Leliana's nickname for Elissa Cousland. "Robin" is her nickname for Katalina Tabris.


End file.
